A new report released on Thursday by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux states, "Canada needs to reduce the cost of owning electric vehicles by 31 percent if it wants to reach its sales target of 60 percent electric vehicles by 2030, unless policies or technologies change."

Last December, the federal government unveiled an electric vehicle availability standard that set sales targets for zero-emission vehicle manufacturers, requiring that all new light-duty vehicle sales in Canada be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035.

There are also interim targets that at least 20 percent of all sales be electric vehicles by 2026 and 60 percent by 2030.

These targets set by the federal government come at a time when growth forecasts for automakers have stabilized, amid ongoing concerns about charging infrastructure. Additionally, rising prices of electric vehicles have pushed these cars out of reach for many consumers. According to the Canadian Black Book, the average cost of an electric vehicle was $73,000 in 2023.

Despite the Parliamentary Budget Office assessing ownership costs, the report also states that the federal government's electric vehicle sales target would increase the supply of charging stations in Canada by about 39,000 units.

The report says, "We estimate that by 2030, the availability of public charging stations in the market will be somewhat less than what is required according to the needs analysis commissioned by the Canadian Ministry of Natural Resources."

According to the federal government, there are currently over 25,000 public chargers for electric vehicles in Canada.